UPDATED 14:01 EDT / MARCH 08 2013

NEWS

Pandora gets a Revenue Boost, but CEO Steps Down

Pandora Media Inc. recently reported its fourth quarter and full year 2013 results, which are quite optimistic. For Q4 2013, the company has posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) loss of $0.04 on revenues of $125.1 million.

For the first quarter of its 2014 fiscal year, Pandora guided revenue at $120 to $125 million and an adjusted EPS loss of $0.10 to $0.13, again attributed to stock-based compensation expense. But Q4 results are not substantially different from the company’s Q3 results. The only big difference is that expectations have been reset.

Talking about the Q4 report, Pandora CEO Joseph Kennedy said,

“We closed the year with a record 8% share of total U.S. radio listening and record mobile monetization that cemented our leadership in mobile advertising. We have completed our technology integration with radio ad buying platforms and are rolling it out to the market. Pandora has been hiring top talent in local radio markets to further increase our share of the $15 billion radio ad market. We are now effectively the largest radio station in almost every major market and begin fiscal year 2014 with extraordinary momentum.”

Overall, it is a good and positive outcome this quarter, where Pandora’s quarterly advertising revenue grew more than 56% year-over-year to $109 million, while subscription revenue rose 74% to $16.1 million. Total listening hours rose more than 50% to 4.05 billion in the fourth quarter.

While we were still in awe with Pandora’s financial performance, CEO Joseph Kennedy announced he will step down as soon as the company can find someone for his position.

“As part of our Board discussions of the road that lies ahead, I reached the conclusion and advised the Board that the time is right to begin a process to identify my successor,” Kennedy said in a statement. “There is a tremendous market opportunity ahead and I look forward to continuing to work with all the great people at Pandora to keep driving the business forward.”

Kennedy joined Pandora in 2004. Under his leadership, Pandora’s user base has grown to more than 67 million monthly active listeners and with more than 700 employees on staff.

The company announced late last year it had generated about $120 million in 2012, with profits of just over $2 million. Though 60 % higher than the year prior, the figure fell short of what analysts had predicted. Plus, the company is riding a slim margin as 61 % of revenues are dedicated to licensing. Not only this, the company also has to deal with new players in a game it helped go global.


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